Neophyte needs wisdom re: 25 pounder gun refurb

[Phillip]

Dan,

You cannot remove the firing mechanism if it has been cocked. This one sort of looks like it has been as the slide is all the way to the left and the safety catch is on fire. But the bit sticking out the back of the firing mechanism is around the wrong way and it looks to have a nut in place of the T piece, so it is hard to tell.

Your manual has a good drawing in it and from that you should be able to work it out.

Good luck.

[Dan Johnston]

Thanks, Philip. Might have a bit of a problem there...

The gun won't dry fire. There's a rock-solid resistance to operating the firing mechanism. I had worried that the safety was stuck on (zero rotation of the safety lever - I'm hoping that's just paint adhesion) but as you note, it's off.

So to get the block out of the gun, the striker must be in the fired position. Problem is our gun won't fire. I'm loathe to force anything, having seen the end results of "kitchen table gunsmithing" too many times in my life. I really don't want to just grab the firing handle and reef on 'er until something goes click.

Next time I see her, I'll make a close inspection for welds that shouldn't be there. Some enterprising soul has tack welded some of the bolts on the shield, I assume to prevent theft. I hope to hell he didn't get all enthusiastic and throw a couple into the firing block as well, or we'll have to do some very, VERY tentative grinding to get past that...

Ideas?

[Dan Johnston]

OK, update:

Met some of the lads in the outfit last night. Good people, very interested in helping out. HUGE institutional support on this job, which is wonderful.

Got the gun to cock and click once we figured out we had that one piece of the firing mechanism in backwards. Such are the trials of the neophyte. Learning new stuff daily, it seems.

Ran a hedgehog down the bore, producing a horrifying cloud of rust. That will not do. Job one next week is a pail of CLP, the same hedgehog, and much scrubbing.

We are missing an essential piece - the wee t-handled cocking piece on the firing block has wandered away. We would very much appreciate either the loan of one that we could copy and return (paying postage both ways, of course) or drawings sufficiently detailed to recreate one from them.

Can someone lend us one? We have a millwright/machinist in the crew who could turn one out in his lunch hour at the shop...

Cheers,

Dan

[rnixartillery]

I have NOS T caps still in sealed packaging.
£25 plus postage.

PM or email for more info.

Rob................rnixartillery.

[Dan Johnston]

Thanks, Rob. Working on getting the bureaucracy to kick loose the necessary funds. Will advise.

Update:

Wednesday was very productive. Dropped by early with a bag full of tools and blood in my eye. That firing block was gonna come out or else I was going to apply harsher language and more animal brute force.

Last week we pulled out the Firing Block Catch, made sure the striker was in the "fired" position, and attempted to rotate the block clockwise as per the manual. Sadly, the combined force of a brawny WO and me shouting encouragement accomplished nothing. She was on there as tight as if she was welded. I retired to consider strategy. Fast forward to this past Wednesday, when I returned to the battlefield with a soft-faced hammer and a plan.

Scribed around the perimeter of the piece with a dental tool, applied penetrating oil, waited five minutes, whispering soft words of affection to her the whole time. Pulled the disassembly catch rearward, applied torque. Nothing. Hammer time.

Gentle taps showed slight progress. Good. Not breaking stuff. Hit harder. Rotation.



More tappage. Interrupted threads disengage, block is free. Feeling pretty Indiana Jones about now.



There she is.



Some rust present, but the lads who last had her apart were generous with the oil and grease. Zero pitting or problems, just dried grease and paint adhesion.



Flushed with success, we moved to the breechblock itself.



After tapping out the Breech Operating Handle Buffer (held tight by paint and time) the breech block was delivered into the hands of a helpful MWO who happened to be wandering by. Thanks again, mate.







Looks horrifying, I know, but most of that was dried grease and oil and came off with gentle scraping using a razor blade. There's very little if any rust on that breechblock. Weighs about as much as one would expect a large loaf of bread made of steel to weigh.

I also pulled the firing linkage off the port side of the breech ring - all of it painted green. Broke my heart to get it off and find brass. There should be a law about painting brass. never mind. I'll make it right.

Took the firing linkage and firing block home for teardown, cleaning, paint stripping, relubrication, and affection. Teaching a course this weekend, so I lose two days, but come Monday I should have more pics.

Quick question - I want to get that grisly green paint off the entire breech end of things. Any suggestions re: paint stripper that's kind to steel and brass?

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Dan Johnston

Quick question - I want to get that grisly green paint off the entire breech end of things. Any suggestions re: paint stripper that's kind to steel and brass?

Brake fluid. Saturate a rag or paper towel and hold it in place with twine or even elastic bands. Come back tomorrow and the paint will fall off with no scrubbing required.

[Dan Johnston]

Thanks, bud. I'll give that a try.

Update from last Wednesday. Stripped off the breech ring:

Before:



After:



Internals are in pretty decent shape. Dried grease, very minor corrosion, and about a cup of coarse sand.





Here, my son channels his inner Khyber Pass Child Labourer/Apprentice Gunsmith and gently returns the bits to an acceptable state. Dental tools were key to the operation.



I note that each extractor is clearly labelled in 20-point font:



No screwing that up.

With the breech ring gutted and as light as it could get, time to spin it off. Sorry, no pix of the operation. We were pretty busy watching the Padre wrassle with the thing. But here's the back end of the barrel.



Buck naked and covered in a thin layer of grease. Nothing Freudian about that. Note the complete absence of corrosion. Whoever tucked her in for her nap read and followed the manual, God bless 'em.

And off to the front of the gun, where the Padre again channelled the Power of the Spirits and spun the muzzle brake off.



Note the hint of rust at the muzzle. That's indicative of the best of it. The floor of the chamber area looks like the bottom of a gravel pit. She's soaking in CLP right now awaiting this Wednesday's labours. I fear she'll need something stronger, perhaps a 90mm wide ball of steel wool on a drill. Poor old thing. We'll get her running, and soon.

Onward,

Dan